Anet A8 X belt attachment

thingiverse

This remix of Maker Simhopp's X-belt attachment part can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1433295. It's an X-belt attachment designed for Anet 3D "Anet A8" model Prusa i3 3D printers, also known as "Omni" or "m-505", and Acrylic framed printers with a 5-button LCD screen. I'd like to extend my gratitude to the original creator for their work. The reason I remixed this part was to address two main issues. Firstly, the belt spread on the original design was off by 1mm compared to the distance at my 16t gear and idler. My remix adjusts the attachment groove up by 1mm to ensure a linear pull and keep the belts running parallel. Secondly, I noticed that the tension between the top and bottom of the belt loop was uneven. By modeling the belt section as a solid loop, it becomes clear that the grooves on the original design are misaligned when using a toothed idler. This results in uneven tension, which can be problematic for printers like mine with an E3D V6 hotend and a printed carriage. The corrected design ensures a more even tension throughout the belt. When designing belt attachment parts, it's essential to remember that they should be treated as solid loops. Many designs are created by mirroring one side of the geometry along a center line, which can lead to issues like uneven tension. I recommend checking this design for yourself if you have a similar setup to mine, featuring an Anet A8, E3D V6 on a printed carriage, bowden, 16t gears and idlers with an X-belt tensioner. The belt should slide in smoothly, and the geometry will be correct.